Ragnarok Part I: Morning Star
by eskimita
Summary: He was the most beloved of heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father. His doubts would change that.


**Disclaimer: THIS STORY IS MOST LIKELY OFFENSIVE TO ANYONE WHO IDENTIFIES AS A CHRISTIAN. TURN BACK NOW IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED. That being said, any flames I receive will be published on my facebook to amuse me.**

**This is an extreme AU backstory of Lucifer, focused on the Bible. Anything unclear will be cleared up in future stories that are already in the works. I claim no ownership or expertise on actual events.**

* * *

Long before the dawn of man, before the earth was born, before the first breath of life had been breathed into this galaxy, there was God and there were angels. The angels were beloved by God, His favored were doted upon. Four angels stood head and shoulders above the rest, exalted as God's were the leaders of the Heavens, directing their brethren in worship, leading them in battle, delivering all news of God's desires to them. When the earth was born and man took his first step, it was to these angels God decreed that the humans were to be loved and exalted, to be protected because they were God's chosen creatures. It was this decree, the order of their beloved Father to love humans above all but Him, that signified the end of peace in Heaven.

* * *

"Father," the angel approached the throne of God, something only he and three others had ever gazed upon, with his head bowed in submission, wings folded behind him in respect. When he felt the Father's hand on his head, his entire body relaxed under the ministrations, the urge to preen at finding the Father's favor rising.

"My Morning Star, what is it that troubles you?" As always, the love in the Father's voice made the angel's very grace sing, songs of praise and adoration slipping from his every pore. The angel's fingers twitched, the desire to play these praises upon his harp overwhelming. Instead, his wings spread slightly, the feathers singing a tune of love as he raised his head slightly, enough to see the shine of the Father's love.

"Beloved Father, I do not understand," the angel bowed further in submission, his pose showing how reluctant he was to voice his question. To question the Father went against everything that the angel had ever known. The Father was all-knowing, He would not have made a mistake. And yet, the angel could not help but question Him. "Why must we love the humans second only to you? They do not love you with every fiber of their beings as we do, their souls do not sing as our grace does. What is it that makes them so beloved?"

The Father sighed, his fingers running through the angel's gold spun locks as He spoke. "Beloved Morning Star, the angels worship Me because they dwell within the perfection of Heaven. There have been no trials for the angels. The humans worship Me despite the imperfection of their situation. They dwell in a place where they must face trials and tribulations, where there is temptation at every turn. Yet they still worship Me. Is that not worthy of your adoration?"

The angel's wings shook in confusion. "Father, they are fickle. They could turn away from You at any moment. What is to say that they will worship You when hard times befall them? At the moment, they dwell in the comfort of Your garden, they want for nothing, they are coddled safely to Your breast. If they were exposed to the challenges You have created for them, they would turn away from You. We angels would never- _I _would never turn my back to you, regardless of any trials I might face."

"I have given the humans the ability to turn from Me because it is a beautiful thing when they choose Me despite it. It warms My heart to see their devotion in the face of adversity. The angels can learn much from the humans, beloved."

"But Father," the angel looked up, distraught, "I cannot know that they would worship You in the face of adversity because I cannot see it in their nature. How can I love a creature capable of cursing Your very name?"

"That, My beloved Morning Star, is faith. Faith that they will love Me despite any temptations they may face. Have faith, My little one. The humans will not disappoint you."

The angel left the Father's presence shortly after, his grace silent for the first time since his creation. Dark thoughts ran through his mind, questions and doubts spinning around. He could not have faith in the humans when he could see the very threads of fickleness sewn into their souls. He would show the Father that they would turn away from Him, and then he would no longer be held to the duty of loving the humans, unworthy as they were, second only to his beloved Father. Everything would be right once more.

* * *

"Reveal yourself, Helel." The bone-crushing anguish in the Father's voice had the angel complying without a thought, his grace dimmed so much that it was almost completely extinguished. The songs that flowed from him were laments, the melodies heartbreaking and full of sorrow and regret. He could not even look up into the light of the Father's glory, so great was his shame. "Beloved Morning Star," the Father spoke again, "You have doubted Me. You have been blinded by your belief that the humans are incapable of loving Me as you do. You must be punished for your doubt."

The angel was struck motionless as the Father approached him, His hand reaching out to grasp one of his wings. The Father spread the golden wing, fingers running over the feathers He had formed. It was rare that the Father would run His fingers through the feathers of the angels, even His most beloved. The angel's grace should be singing in joy at being so loved, but instead he was crippled by the disappointment he could feel from the Father.

"Your punishment is thus, until you learn to love the humans as I have decreed, you will be banned from Heaven, forced to walk along the earth." The Father cut the angel's primary feathers, removing his ability to fly and return to Heaven. The angel let out a heart-wrenching cry as he was cut off from his home, falling to his knees as sobs shook his shoulders. "I will welcome you home when I have seen that you have come to love the humans as I have ordered you."

Punishment issued, the Father departed from the garden, leaving the angel behind, still heaving as he cried out, his grace writing mournful verses of a child left behind by his favorite parent.

"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?"

* * *

The lives of those first humans ended, and still the angel walked the earth. Civilizations grew, rising up out of the desert, built upon the belief in and love of the Father, and still the angel walked the earth. In each human mind, he planted the seed of doubt, the thought that perhaps the Father did not love them as He loved the others. It was the behavior of a petty child, bitter because his Father had refused him his favorite pastime, yet the angel did not desist. In the heart of Cain, the angel found a darkness akin to his own, a doubt of the Father's love that he could not help but exploit.

Turning the man into a tool for his own devices was frighteningly simple. The man harbored a jealousy of his brother, a desire to be seen as Abel was, that Helel likened to the cries of his own grace. Watching as God found favor with Abel over Cain, just as He found favor with humans over Helel, the angel could not resist the cry of his song, the desire to twist Cain into something entirely different from the creatures God had created. So black was Cain's soul, poisoned as it was with the jealousy of a sibling, Helel found it delightful to consume it, filling it with an eternal hatred of humans akin to his own. As he crafted his first companion, Helel swore to himself that he would continue on, crafting demons from the charred souls of humans brimming with resentment. He would make the Father see that his concerns were valid, that angels should not have to place humans above themselves when the humans were so fickle that they allowed their souls to be torn to shreds and mangled into an adulterated versions of his own grace.

* * *

Hundreds of years passed before Helel saw another angel again. It came as a surprise to him when, out of the morning light, one of his favored brothers emerged. The comfort of being wrapped in his brother's grace prevented him from seeing the gleam in the other's angel's eyes, the calculating gaze taking in the bleak condition Helel's own grace was in after so long being separated from those whom he cherished.

"Helel, the Morning Star, would you sing for me? It has been so long since I have heard your exhaltations of our Father." His brother's voice was sickeningly sweet and Helel found himself pulling away from the grace of the other angel, pulling his wings in to protect himself. "Come, brother, that lovely voice of yours should be risen in praise."

"What is it you have come to do, Michael?" Helel drew his dimmed grace up and forced it out, the strength of it allowing him to continue to face his brother, in spite of the mocking in the other angel's voice. "Am I an amusement to my brethren now, the favored one shamed for his love of the Father? Have you come to gaze upon the one who saw the humans for the fickle monsters they are? Gaze away, brother, but do not ask me to sing our Father's praises when he has betrayed me so."

Helel had expected Michael's smile to fade into nothing at that, instead he found it growing, a pleased air wrapping around his brother. "I agree with you, brother, though I am not as foolish as you and have not spoken up about the humans. Instead, I have been planning. Come, sit with me like you used to, allow me to care for your wings as I tell you my plan."

Slowly, Helel approached the other angel, settling down at his feet and sighing as Michael's deft fingers started working through his wings, straightening out the feathers that had gone into disrepair over the centuries. As Helel began to relax, Michael spoke. "What have you heard of the rumors of the Nephilim?"

"I have heard that some of our brethren have been warming the beds of human women, resulting in creatures that are equal part angel and man, with the powers and capabilities of an angel and the easy fall into temptation of man."

"The Father has decided that they are dangerous, an abomination. He has assembled a garrison to cleanse the earth of them before he purges the sin from mankind." Michael pulled a dead feather from Helel's wing and tossed it to the ground. "He intends to begin humanity anew, from the loins of one whom he has deemed worthy."

"Why are you telling me this? I fail to see the relevance of the Nephilim to my own situation. I loathe them as much as I do their human relations for they are all weak and unworthy of our Father's love."

"The Nephilim are powerful, brother. They could be convinced to turn against the humans because they are weak. The Nephilim could be the key to returning you to your position in Heaven, if you will aid me. Together we could rid the universe of the pesky humans that are so undeserving of the love the Father has given them."

"I fail to see how this plan of yours will work, brother. I dislike the humans as much as you do, but I am content to ignore them. Lashing out will bring nothing but trouble for you, and you know it. Do not be foolish, it is far too plebian for you. There must be some other way to show the Father what we have seen. I have not lost faith that the Father will see what I have seen."

"You have already been banished from Heaven for your attempts at changing the Father's mind. Would you not rather be successful and returned to Heaven in glory? If you continue on as you are, you will be sentenced to walk among the humans for eternity, never returning to the Father's presence. If you aid me, we will smite the taint of humanity and be received with loving and open arms."

Helel shook his head, pulling his wings away from Michael's grasp as he moved out of his brother's reach. "I will not aid you in striking out against the humans. I will continue on as I have and pray that the Father has a change of heart. I refuse to kill the Father's creations."

Michael stood, wings flaring out in anger. Helel was reminded that, of the two of them, Michael was the superior fighter. He had trained their Father's garrisons, whereas Helel's place was in the field of worship. "If you do not aid me, I will do everything in my power to ensure that you are banished to the depths of hell and bound for eternity in a cage, your only contact with the demons you have created. Do not cross me, brother."

"Do what you will, brother, it cannot be anything more painful than what I have already been forced to endure. Rest assured though, that I will never cease in my attempts to change the Father's mind. I will be welcomed back into heaven when the Father has seen that the humans are forever unworthy of his love."

* * *

When the Father sent a flood to wash the earth clean of Nephilim, Helel watched, hidden with Cain and the other demons he had created. For a small moment, he had wondered if he should send his demons to perish as the Nephilim were, but Helel knew that despite the Father's love for them, Noah's family would be no different from the rest of humanity and he would need his demons to prove it. To keep his demons safe, he constructed a place where they could go when they were not actively doing his bidding, where the souls of those foolish enough to make a deal could go until he was prepared to train them to serve him. It was there that Helel retreated when the humans began to rebuild, there where he hid when the Father decided that an entire _race _of the incompetent creatures was worthy of His love. It was in the dark abyss he had created that Helel allowed his broken grace to mourn, to cry out his lamentations for the loss of his Father's love.

* * *

"Morning Star," that beloved voice, gone unheard for so long, had the angel freezing in his steps, his wings curling around his body protectively. Even the gentle tone felt like the touch of power that had grounded Helel to the earth. "Why do you insist on fighting me? Why do you lack faith?"

"Father," Helel hated the way his grace still sang songs of love and devotion to God, that he still wanted nothing more than to bask in His presence. "The humans are not worthy. I cannot have the faith You wish me to have when they prove me right with every breath. Given the chance, they would curse Your name. How can I love a creature so willing to turn against You?"

"Oh, Morning Star, My beloved angel, it pains Me to see you struggle so." The Father ran a hand through one of Helel's wings, causing the angel to shudder in pain. Though the Father did not intend the pain, the loving touch was far too much for the angel to take. "The humans are not what you believe them to be. I will see you convinced."

"It will not happen. The humans are not worthy of You, Father. They are not-" The angel stopped. "Why are You here?"

The Father released Helel's wing, stepping away. "I will see you convinced, My Morning Star. There is a man." The Father brought the inside of a house to being. "His name is Job. He is My most faithful."

"He would still curse Your name, as they all would."

"That is why I have brought you to him. Tempt him, destroy him, tear what you will from him. He will stay faithful. Then perhaps you will believe that the humans are capable of loving Me."

Helel was silent, watching the Father. Finally, he bowed his head. "As You wish it."

As the Father left, Helel stared at the man, Job, swearing to himself that he would see the man broken, if only to show the Father what he had known all along. Then the Father would welcome him back into heaven, he just knew it.

* * *

"Brother," The rustle of wings had the fallen angel sighing heavily. He hated when his brothers came to see him. Michael always came to taunt him, to remind him of everything he had lost. Gabriel was worse than Michael. He came bearing understanding love, knowing what it was that had caused Helel to struggle and fall. Knowing that his brother, beloved of both himself and the Father could have easily followed his path hurt Helel for reasons that he refused to investigate. "I have news."

"What is it Gabriel?"

"The Father has decided to send His Son to the humans, to save them." Gabriel stayed a respectable distance from the other angel, his wings folded sedately behind him. "Helel," the ever-happy angel sighed forlornly. It was an emotion that Helel hated seeing in his brother, it made him desire to wrap Gabriel up in his torn wings, to surround the younger angel with his grace. "They call Him Morning Star."

The pain that shot through Helel's grace was stronger than the pain he had felt when the Father had banished him. His wings drooped for a second before he hardened his heart, forcing himself to stand up straight and proud. He would not allow this knowledge to break him. If the Father wanted to name His Son the name He had gifted to Helel, then return was truly lost to him. "That is the way it must be, then. Thank you Gabriel. I appreciate you mentioning this to me."

"Helel, must you continue this? We miss you, brother. I miss you. Why must you continue to fight the Father?" Gabriel stepped closer, extending his grace and very carefully wrapping it around the fallen angel, keeping him close in his love. "I would welcome you back to our home with open arms. Please, brother."

"It is as it must be, Gabriel. Leave me, brother. Do not return."

Gabriel left in a near silent brush of wings, pushing one last burst of love towards Helel. The broken angel shuddered, soaking up the love for a second before forcing himself to leave that place and return to his abyss.

* * *

"They say you are the Son of God."

The man in the desert pulled himself off of the ground, turning to face Helel. The power of the Father bled out of the man, causing the fallen angel to hiss and step back. When the man spoke, his voice was soft and gentle, nothing like Helel had expected. "You were once my Father's beloved. What is it you believe me to be?"

"Misguided." Helel's wings twitched before settling against his back. "The humans are broken, twisted, shattered. Is it worth your life to save them? Come with me and together we will have power nearly unstoppable."

The man, Jesus, gave Helel a look of understanding and pity that had the angel's wings rising defensively. The last thing he wanted was for this _savior _to pity him.

"My Father made man to love Him. It was your lack of faith that spurred their descent. You have so little faith, blinded though you are by prejudice. It is your faithlessness that has caused this. Would you see the Father hurting for His creation or would you see them redeemed?"  
"They are not worthy," Helel hissed, pulling his wings back. "They would have betrayed Him, whether or not I aided them. I only wished to show Him that which I had seen."

"You questioned the Father," Jesus's voice was still calm. "You questioned the Father and now you seek to destroy what He has sent the Son to do. Begone, fallen angel, Helel no more. You will be known forevermore, feared, as Lucifer, banished from heaven and cursed to roam the earth for eternity."

The angel found himself somewhere else before he could blink, far from the desert where he had met the Son of God. Growling, he took himself back to his abyss, swearing to exact his vengeance on Jesus and his followers. Regardless of what the Son of God had said, he would never stop his mission to show the Father how unworthy the humans were.

* * *

"Brother."

Lucifer looked away from the pitiful humans he had been watching, meeting Gabriel's gaze with hard eyes. "Gabriel. What is it God's messenger has for me today?"

Gabriel's golden wings twitched uncomfortably as he stepped closer to his brother, reaching out with his grace. "There is unrest in heaven."

"Unrest," Lucifer laughed hollowly. "Why have you brought me news of unrest, brother? I have been banished; what do I care what happens in heaven?"

"There are rumors that you have sewn seeds of doubt into the minds of the angels."

"Me?" Lucifer spread his wings mockingly, assuming a grand gesture, "Oh behold the deceiver of heaven, banished, only cared for by one brother, yet somehow still sewing unrest among the Father's perfect soldiers! Leave me Gabriel, I cannot take your jests."

"I do not jest, Lucifer." Gabriel was far more serious than Lucifer had ever heard him. "They speak of binding you, casting you into the abyss you created and cursing you to eternity there. Brother, please, hide. Do not allow them to bind you."

"They will not bind me, Gabriel. Do not be foolish. They are not strong enough to bind me. Go, messenger, return to your Father."

"Lucifer, please, beloved brother, listen to me. I would not see you trapped."

"Gabriel," Lucifer's twisted grace flared, trapping the other angel. When he spoke again, his voice shook with darkness. "You will leave me. Let them come. I have nothing to lose in a fight with them. Now go."

A look of broken-heartedness crossed Gabriel's face and he nodded. Before he left, he spoke once more. "You will always be my most beloved brother. I will return to you, rest assured."

* * *

Lucifer thrashed in the chains that bound his grace, snarling as the other angel stepped closer to him. He spat at the other angel, eyes flashing.

"Now, brother, is that any way to treat heaven's defense? I am simply protecting those faithful to our Father."

"You are exacting revenge like a child, Michael!" Lucifer lunged for the other angel, only to be stopped short by his chains. "Where is the Father to deem this punishment suitable? Where is His Son?"

Michael's grin was far more predatory than any seen on Lucifer's face and the fallen angel shivered. "They have been disposed of. No one will stand in my way. I will rule the heavens. You are the final obstacle and I will see you caged before I allow you to stop me."

"There are others who will rise against you. You are far too foolish to succeed."

Michael laughed and his wings spread as he presented himself before Lucifer. "You speak of Gabriel. Do not fear, brother, your beloved pet has been dealt with. Now it is your time."

Before Lucifer could question what Michael meant, his chains transformed into a cage, trapping him in the middle of his abyss. He lashed out against the bars, only to be thrown back as his grace burned.

"You shall forever remain, bound in this cage. You, Morning Star, are banished from heaven and on earth. So I have spoken, so mote it be."

* * *

Lucifer seethed as his most faithful demons reported to him, cursing his brother's name. Michael had overthrown heaven, it seemed, banishing all who dared disagree with him. Lucifer could only thank the Father that Gabriel appeared to have vanished before Michael could capture him. Knowing that his most beloved brother had escaped eased the constant agony he felt. This cage Michael had trapped him in made it impossible for Lucifer to search for his brother. He was forced to watch through his demons eyes as Michael manipulated the humans and angels, as Michael twisted heaven into something it was never meant to be. As he watched, Lucifer plotted. Someday, he would escape this prison and rise against Michael. Banished from His presence or not, Lucifer would return the Father to the throne before slaying Michael. For centuries, Lucifer watched and plotted. When the time came to act, help came in the most unexpected form.


End file.
